Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors #6)(28)

Without warning, jagged bolts of lightning ripped apart his skull. He forced himself to breathe through the miserable pain, counting the seconds . . . three, four . . . six, seven. The pain was getting worse. Damn bird. He couldn't decide which was a bigger pain in his ass, the one in his head or the one who was about to shift into a fox.

Finally, Tighe appeared at the top of the opposite stair from where the women sat and quickly made his way down.

"Sorry. Delaney wanted to come down to see us off, but she was asleep on her feet. I put her back in bed."

Jag snorted. "And joined her?"

Tighe smiled, but there was nothing carnal about it. Nothing in his expression but deep, abiding love for his mate. "She falls asleep more easily in my arms." After the hell Tighe had suffered in the spirit trap, and the equal hell Delaney must have suffered thinking she was about to lose him, there wasn't a man among them who begrudged the pair the few extra minutes. Except, perhaps, Maxim.

Lyon clapped his hands together. "Let's go."

Olivia rose and descended the dozen steps as Jag met her at the base of the stairs and gave her a quick, thorough kiss. From her perch beside Faith, Skye blew Paenther a kiss. He returned it with a look that promised far more when he returned. Then he grabbed Maxim's shoulder and turned him to the now-open door.

Hawke glanced back at Faith and found her gaze locked on him. But no smile winged its way down to him. The look in her eyes was one of regret. Then she looked away, dismissing him. Stabbing him through the heart.

"Hawke."

At Lyon's prodding, he nodded and turned away with a sigh.

"Olivia's in charge until we return," Lyon said to no one in particular. The women, except for Kara, would remain at Feral House. They couldn't be part of the ritual, nor could they get close enough to watch since it needed to be performed beneath the curtain of a mystic circle where no human could see or hear what went on. Besides, the women were needed to guard Feral House in the Ferals' absence. Delaney might need sleep, but she was ex-FBI. If they came under attack, she'd be in the front of the fighting, he had no doubt. Olivia was a warrior by trade, a leader of the Therian guard, and even Skye had proved herself capable of pulling strong attack energies, when needed. And if it came to it, if they could communicate their need, Ariana commanded an entire army of Ilina mist warriors. Left to the women, Feral House was in excellent hands.

Lyon and Kara stepped through the open front door. Hawke followed, closing it behind him, then joined the others, who waited in the drive. An hour before sunrise, they were now safe from the nocturnal draden, who always disappeared about this time. Shoulder to shoulder the nine and Kara strode across the lawn and into the woods beyond, the breeze blowing damp fingers through Hawke's short hair. This would be only his second Renascence - third if he counted his own. The last had been for the young, now-deceased, Foxx four years ago. Once again it was a fox shifter he would watch come into his animal for the first time.

They crossed a couple of residential streets, moving silently between mansions tucked into the thick woods, finally reaching the rocks high above the Potomac River. One by one, the nine shifters climbed down to the wide, flat goddess stone, Lyon holding tight to Kara's hand.

Golden armbands gleaming in the light of a half-moon, Lyon and Kougar raised the mystic circle that would enclose them, both in sight and sound, from the outside world and any human who might wander by. Magic in place, Lyon called for the warriors to take their spots as he led Kara to the center of the stone and gave her a brief, gentle kiss on her mouth. Kougar led them as they raised their voices in chant, repeating the ancient words, bringing back memories of Hawke's own Renascence.

What a hellacious time that had been for him. He'd had to watch a Radiant who wasn't his mother call the radiance for him to be brought into his father's animal. The honor and satisfaction of becoming one of the men he'd admired from the time he was old enough to understand that all men weren't Feral Warriors had slammed up against the bitter grief of his parents' recent deaths. It was a night he'd never forget, and one he'd never want to go through again.

Kougar slashed the ritual knife across his bare chest, slapped his palm against the bleeding cut, and curled his fingers into a fist around the blood. Then he handed the knife to Lyon. One after another, each warrior followed, slashing his own chest, fisting his hand around his blood. When it was his turn, Hawke carved a thin line into his flesh, clamping his jaw against the searing pain, breathing through his nose as he slapped his free hand to the warm stickiness before the wound could heal. By the time he handed the knife to Vhyper, the pain had fled.

When Vhyper was done, he handed the blade to Maxim. "Your turn."

Maxim met Hawke's gaze, a gleam in his eye that had Hawke wondering if the new Feral meant to throw the knife at him. Instead, he cut himself, as he was supposed to, without hesitation.

Kougar shoved his fist into the air, and the others followed.

"Kara," Lyon said softly.

Kara unzipped the hoodie and tossed it aside, then lifted her arms to the sky, drawing the Radiance from the Earth, and began to glow with the light of the sun.

Lyon turned to Maxim. "Remain where you are. If you touch her without an armband, the radiance will kill you."

Maxim dipped his head but continued to stare at Kara, clearly intrigued by the glowing woman. Hawke supposed such a sight would fascinate anyone who hadn't grown up with it.